The Cricket, developed in France in the early 1960s, was the first disposable lighter.
It was one of countless objects that helped usher in the era of what Life magazine dubbed “Throwaway Living”.
Now lighters are one of the most common trash items collected in beach clean-ups. Artists Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang have pulled dozens of lighters from one remote beach they visit regularly in Point Reyes, California. They assemble theirs finds into striking photo tableaux:
